When I invited author Kristen Otte to share her experience of working with her editor (that would be me—*waves*), she graciously accepted. I’ve been lucky enough to edit three of Kristen’s books: The Adventures of Zelda: The Second Saga, The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach (coming soon), and The Photograph, which releases today.
As an editor I’m used to being invisible in the final product, but as Kristen writes, I am anything but when a manuscript comes to me for editing and I get my red pen out. Kristen is a dream author from an editor’s point of view: she is receptive to suggestions, thoughtful in her approach to edits, and eager to put what she learns into practice. At this rate, I may be out of a job in another book or two! 😉
Here is Kristen’s take on working with me . . . and a few comments from my side of the table:
It was nerve-wracking when I sent my first manuscript to an editor. I knew my novel was far from perfect, and I needed an editor to clean up the flaws. But it still wasn’t easy to send the manuscript away. It took me over a year to write and revise my first novel. I poured my heart and soul into the project, and the editor was one of the first people to read the entire novel. [ED: I’m a writer, too, and I understand just how difficult it is to send your “baby” out into the world.] The good news is that even though the editing process was nerve-wracking, I survived my first edit. From my experience, I compiled a few tips to help you survive your first edit.
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